Netflix Wanting To Shorten Marvel Show Seasons Was Reportedly Big Issue Leading To Recent Cancellations

Netflix and Marvel are moving towards a full-on split, and while there are a number of factors to [...]

By Matthew Aguilar

Netflix and Marvel are moving towards a full-on split, and while there are a number of factors to blame for that, it appears that the number of episodes in each season is the main culprit.

We previously knew that it was one of those stressful factors between the two companies, but REDEF's Matthew Ball identifies the episode issue as the main reason why Netflix and Disney parted ways, leading to Netflix canceling Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, which started the cancellation spree.

Ball says Netflix wanted Disney to shorten the seasons, which would help alleviate one of the main issues Netflix had with them going forward. "10/ Netflix reportedly wanted to shorten the seasons, thereby reducing total spend and improving retention and quality (Netflix's shows, especially the Marvel ones, are famously bloated). Reportedly from 13 eps to 6-8," Ball wrote.

While that might seem like a small adjustment, especially when the issue of bloated seasons is a well-known one by critics and fans, Disney has a different viewpoint.

"11/ Which means Disney would have to effectively reduce their revenue from 2/3rds, while keeping valuable characters unavailable for all other live action applications, while focusing on their own D2C. And while Netflix could force a renewal, they couldn't do so at new terms," Ball wrote.

That means Netflix could've renewed all of the shows if it wanted to under the old deal, but if they wanted shorter seasons they would have to renegotiate, and Disney wasn't having it.

"12/ So Disney liked balked. The value wasn't there for either party. It once was. And everyone is now tired of financing another party's enterprise value growth – the economic incentives (cost minimization and upside maximization) drive vertical integration," Ball wrote. Fin/ In short, it just wasn't working for anyone. Including most of the series' original fans."

So in essence, Netflix wanted to cut spending and make the shows better, and for Disney, the value wasn't there to do those two things, especially when they could just use those characters in their MCU or self-created Disney + universe.

Honestly, this was probably going to happen eventually anyway, as Disney + will only grow to encompass more characters from Marvel in the future. Might as well get used to it now.

So, do you think Disney made the right decision? Should they have agreed to Netflix's new terms? Let us know in the comments!

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